Mercurial regulator.



No. 759,258. PATRNTRD MAY 1o, 1904,

R. J. PLI'NN.

MERCURIAL REGULATOR.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 2l. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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No. 759,258. PATENTED MAY l0, 1904. R. J. FLINN.

MERCURIAL REGULATOR.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 21, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented May 10, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

RICHARD J. FLI'NN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO THOMAS F. FL'INN AND GEORGE l). ABORN, OF BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS.

MERCURIAL REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,258, dated May 10, 1904. Application filed May 2l, 1903. Serial No. 158,084. (No model.)

T0 all, 'Lu/wm, 712'; may concern,.-

Beit known that I, RICHARD J. FLINN, of Boston, in the county of Suilolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mercurial Regulators, ot' which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to regulators for controlling the dampers of steam-boiler furnaces or any other device, such as the throttle-valve of a blower-engine, the safety-valve of the boiler, or any steam, air, or gas valve or other regulating' device whereby the steam-pressure of the boiler is regulated or other operation done in connection therewith.

The object of the invention is to insure against disturbing' the operative condition of the regulator by exhausting or disarranging the mercury or other liquid column or columns through excess steam-pressure.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a multiple-stage mercurial regulator constructed in accordance with my invention and shown in section as applied to a damper. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged section showing one of the lower chambers with its check-valve for preventing the escape of the mercury. Figs. 3 to 7, inclusive, represent views similar to Fig. 2, showing live modifications of this chamber and its valve arrangements.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the ligures.

Referring' at lirst to Figs. 1 and 2, 10 represents a pipe for conveying the steam-pressure of the boiler to the mercurial regulator, said pipe entering a chamber 11, from the lower end of which a pipe or tube 12 extends downwardly in a short loop and then vertically to an elevated chamber 13. From the upper end of the latter another pipe or tube 14 extends downwardly to a chamber 15, similar in construction to the chamber 11 and located at about the same level. From the bottom of chamber 15 a pipe or tube 16, similar to the pipe 12, extends downwardly in a short loop and upwardly to an elevated'chamber 17. The latter contains a weight or float 18, connected by a link 19 with an arm 20 on the axis of the damper 21, which constitutes a governing means for regulating thc boiler-pressure. Two columns or bodies or' mercury are employed, one body occupying' the lower part of the chamber 11, the tube 12, and the lower part o't' chamber 13. The other body ot' mercury occupies the lower part ot' chamber 15, the tube 16, and the chamber 17. A body or column of a liquid, such as water, much lighter than the mercury, occupies the upper part of chamber 13, the tube 14, and the upper part of chamber 15, thus constituting' a liexible iuid connection between the two bodies or columns of mercury. Each of the chambers 11 and 15 in the specilic apparatus herein shown has a check-valve. (Shown clearly in connection with chamber 11 in Fig 2.) This valve is in the form of a steel ball 22, cooperating with a valve-seat 23 at the mouth or inlet of the tube 12, (or 16.) This valve lioats in the mercury when the level otl the latter is above the valve-seat 28 and opens a free passage betwean the tube and the chamber. To limit the upward movement of this valve and prevent it from going adrift, there is provided a skeleton lilling-piece 24, slidable vertically in a guide or channel 25 above the valve-seat and whose upward movement is limited by a perforated plate or strainer 26. The latter is held against a shoulder or seat by a spring 27, backed by a removable screw-plug 28, upon the removal of which access may be had to the valve and parts above it and their removal accomplished, if necessary.

In the operation of the device variations in the steam-pressure from the boiler willcauseV a varying pressure upon the surface ot' the mercury in chamber 11, and this pressure, transmitted through the mercury column in tube 12, the water column in tube 1li, and the mercury column in tube 16 to the lioat 18, will cause the latter to rise and fall andy vary the position of the damper 21 according to the steam pressure. Heretofore mecurial regulators have been provided with a single mercury column, which it was necessary to make of considerable height to sustain the usual boiler-pressure. Thus Afor a pressure of one hundred pounds the mercury column had to be two hundred inches high to sustain the .umn regulator.

boiler-pressure, two inches of' mercury being able to sustain one pound of pressure. To sustain the same pressure of one hundred pounds, my multiple-stage regulator, if constructed in two stages, as shown, need onlybe slightly more than one hundred inches in height. rlhe reason for this will bc evident. In the chamber 11 there is a pressure resisting' the steam-pressure equal to the weight of the column of mercury in tube 12 and chamber 13, plus the weight of the mercury column in tube 16 and chamber 17, plus the weight of the short water column in chamber 13 and the first part of the loop of tube 14, less the weight of the water column in the rest of tube 14 and chamber 15, less the weight of the short mercury columns in chambers 11 and land the first part of the loops of pipes 12 and 16 and the weight of whatever water may be in the pipe 10 and chamber 11. As the downwardly-acting mercury columns in chambers 11 and 15 and the first parts of the loops are small in weight as compared with the columns in 12 and 16 and the water columns in 10 and 14 are light in comparison to the columns in 12 and 16, it is evident that the pressure opposing the boiler-pressure in 11 will very nearly equal the combined weights of the mercury columns in 12, 13, 16, and 17, the pressure from 16 and 17 being transmitted through the flexible fluid connection in 14 and 15. It is evident that by providing two stages in the manner set forth I divide the necessary height of the apparatus nearly in half over what it would be for a single mercury column. A three stage apparatus would divide the height nearly by three, and so on.' In case of any accidental increase .in boiler-pressure above the maximum which the apparatus is designed to withstand by its liquid-pressure the check-valves 22 at the entrance to tubes 12 and 16 will close when the level of the mercury descends nearly to the Valve-seats 23 in chambers 11 and 15 and will prevent the further escape of fluid from these chambers. This avoids exhausting the mercury, and in a multiple-stag'e regulator such as described it avoids the transfer of either of the two kinds of liquid to the passages and chambers belonging to the other kind.

My check-valve improvement is not Wholly confined to use with m ultiple-stage regulators, but may also be employed with a single-col- In addition to the advantages noted the check-valve is movable independ ently of the immediate connections to the damper or other member to be regulated, and the valves are normally immersed in mercury, so as to avoid corrosion.

Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, represent several modifications or improvements on the checkvalve feature. In Fig. 3 the valve 22 is confined against escape by a pivoted floatV 29, by which also movement is transmitted to a secondary check-valve 30, controlling the entrance from pipe 10 (or 14) into chamber 11, (or 15.) In Fig. 4 for the steel ball 22 there is substituted a conical valve 31, and for the pivoted float of the previously-described construction there is substituted a rectilinearly-movable float 32, acting on a valve 33. In Fig. 5 a pivoted float 34 acts at one end on the valve 22, and on the opposite side of its pivot it acts on an upwardly-seating valve 35, performing the same function as the valves 30 ant 33. In Fig. 6 the float 29 acts on the valve 22, as in Fig. 3, but operates through outside connections 36 37 38 on astop-valve mechanism 39, performing the functions of the valves 30 33 35. In Fig. 7 a pivoted float 40 is acted on at one end by the mercury in the chamber, and at its opposite end it operates on a stem carrying an upwardly-seating mercury-valve 41 and an upwardly seating water or steam valve 42. Various other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim- 1. In a mercurial regulator, a governing means, a mercury column, mechanism for transmitting the movements of said column to said governing means, and means fioated by said mercury column and independent of said mechanism for limiting the rising movement of said column produced by increase in the pressure acting thereon.

2. In a mercurial regulator, a chamber having an inlet for the transmission of pressure from the boiler and a mercury-outlet, a Inercury column in connection with said outlet and having an extension occupying said chamber, a check-valve floated by the mercury and controlling said outlet, and mechanism at the opposite end of said column independent of said check-valve for transmitting the movements of the column to a governing means.

3. In a mercurial regulator, a chamber having an inlet, an outlet, a valve-seat associated with the outlet, a valve controlling said outlet, a mercury column having an extension occupying said chamber and floating' the valve, and means for maintaining the immersion of said valve during its flotation.

4. In a mercurial regulator, a plurality of mercury columns, a connecting liquid column of different specific gravity, and means floated by one of said mercury columns for limiting the movement of said columns.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD J.. FLINN.

Witnesses:

A. C. RATIGAN, A. D. HARRISON.

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